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Courtesy of Mark Logan Los Altos High graduate Paige Logan, left, is closing in on Caltech’s record for career kills in volleyball. She holds two school records in track and field, shot put and hammer.

Paige Logan’s days of being a three-sport athlete are over, so the Los Altos native intends to make the most of the two she will play in her upcoming senior year at Caltech.

Logan, who had to give up basketball last year due to concussions, aims to add to her list of school records in track and field and leave her mark in volleyball as well.

The Los Altos High graduate said she is “close to breaking a couple of career records in volleyball” at Caltech, an NCAA Division III college in Pasadena. Ranked second all-time in kills and blocks, Logan is optimistic about reaching the top spot in the former.

“I’ve been playing middle blocker and some back row,” she said. “Next year I may play outside hitter and get a few more kills.”

The team captain led Caltech in kills (159) and blocks (53) last fall and finished fifth in digs (33). Logan was one of the few bright spots on a squad that had little to cheer about last season. The Beavers went 0-17 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 1-21 overall.

Logan’s spring track season proved more fruitful as far as wins go, though most of them came individually in the shot put, discus and hammer events.

That success hasn’t swayed her to favor track over volleyball.

“They’re pretty even – I like doing both,” Logan said. “Volleyball is great – I like the team aspect. Track is a team sport, too, but it’s nice to have results depend on you.”

Logan holds two of Caltech’s throwing records and is closing in on another. She reset her shot put record four times last season – it now stands at 41 feet, 9 inches – and heaved the hammer a school-best 138 feet. Logan is within 2 feet of her goal to set the school record in the discus and wants to shatter her hammer mark.

“I want to break 150 in the hammer,” she said. “I’m trying to go from two to three spins, which should add considerable distance to my throws.”

Free throws, however, are something Logan no longer has to concentrate on. She was forced to give up basketball her junior year after suffering a fourth concussion.

“Four is more than enough,” said Logan, concussed three times on the basketball court and once while snowboarding with the basketball team. “But it’s hard to give it up, because I’ve played basketball a really long time.”

Logan added that she began wearing a padded headband for volleyball last season to help prevent further concussions.

“It’s not too bad,” she said of the headgear.

Logan will need that noggin to fulfill her academic goals. A double major (geophysics, environmental science and engineering) on track to graduate next spring, Logan said she wants to pursue a doctorate in physical oceanography or a related field.

“That was cool,” she said. “I won it last year as well and forgot about it.”

Logan is spending the summer as an intern at a marine science institution in Massachusetts. There will be no time to return home – her fellowship ends Aug. 23 and volleyball practice starts three days later.